Cold Sore Treatment | Causes and Treatment

Cold Sore Treatment - Understanding Cold Sores, Causes and Treatments

We will discuss about cold sore symptoms and causes and what are the available cold sore treatments.

Cold sores are known as fever blisters and are actually a contagious viral disease caused by herpes simplex (Herpevirus hominis). It is characterized by thin-walled vesicles which have a tendency to recur in the same area normally at the junction of skin and mucous membrances such as the border of the mouth. They can also affect your gums.

Normally, sufferers would feel a tingling pain on the affected area. Fluid blisters that look like small red growths would form at the affected areas, and the whole cold sore condition would linger on for a period of at least 1 week. Herpes simplex virus would attack your body and cold sore symptoms would surface only after several days to 3 weeks after the attack.

There are 2 types of herpes simplex virus, Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is the main cause for cold sores, while herpes simplex virus type 2 is mostly responsible for genital herpes. That said, both can cause cold sores on the genital or facial parts. Even with the advancement in medical technology, researchers have not found a cure for cold sores using modern cold sore treatment. What cold sore treatment can do is palliative, ie relieving the symptoms of the cold sores rather than curing it.

Discussion about Causes

Some folks have a greater tendency to suffer from cold sores repeatedly. Others seem to be immune to the herpes virus. Possible causes of cold sores are:

1. Stress

It seems that stress is linked to cold sore outbreak. Sufferers have attributed to stress as the top factor in instigating an outbreak.

2. Menstruation

Women are vulnerable to cold sore attacks during menstruation. There exists a relationship between the menstrual cycle and cold sore recurrence.

3. Local Irritants

Excessive exposure to sunlight has been identified as a cause for cold sore outbreak.

4. Sharing of Common Items Such as Eating Utensils, Towels, Etc

Since cold sores are contagious, the sharing of eating utensils, towels, or any common item set the stage for spreading of the virus.

5. Physical Contact with Cold Sore Sufferers

Physical contact such as touching, kissing and having sex with a cold sore sufferer would subject one to herpes simplex virus exposure.

6. Diet

Acidic diets appear to culprits for cold sore outbreaks. Studies also show that cold sore outbreak often takes place in people with poor dietary habits such as drinking, or improper and irregular diet.

7. Immune System

A weak immune system is an ideal condition for the virus attacks.

Cold Sore Treatment – Treatments Available

Cold sores normally would vanish without treatment after a period of time. However, the pain and discomfort associated with cold sores make it necessary for the medical fraternity to formulate drugs and medications to treat them. Since cold sores cannot be cured by modern cold sore treatment, most common treatment methods are meant only to relieve the sufferer of pain and discomfort. You may be surprised though that natural cold sore treatment may be the clue to complete healing from cold sores. There have been reports about fewer recurrences in cold sore sufferers who previously have regular outbreaks. All these seem to point to the effectiveness of natural cold sore treatment.

Over-The-Counter Creams and Medications

Cold sore medications such as creams can be bought over the counter (OTC). They are mainly palliative in nature and seek to bring pain relief to sufferers.

Natural Cold Sore Treatment

Natural cold sore treatment deals more with the natural ingredients. The primary objective is to bring complete healing, and to relieve pain and itchiness secondarily. Natural cold sore treatment can be applied through the following.

1. Diet

2. Physiotherapy

3. Vitamins and Minerals

Stay in tune with me as I reveal to you in greater detail about the various cold sore treatments available and why natural cold sore treatment is the preferred way to treat cold sores.